Faces of Ikebukuro
by WOWZAcoolBEANS
Summary: A place to post my 500 word or less drabbles. All sorts of pairings and subjects. Chapter 24: Mikado realizes that sometimes it's nice to move on.
1. Cigarette

**Title:** Faces of Ikebukuro

**Rating:** Fluctuates from chapter to chapter, but usually around K+ to T.

**Summary:** Just a place for me to post my less than 500 word things for _Durarara!_ Subjects range from tragic, to comedic and everywhere in between.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Durarara!_, I never have and I never will.

**Chapter One: Cigarette**

"Aren't you going to pick that up?" Kasuka asks his brother. Shizuo grunts in response, no better than a caveman. "It's bad to leave cigarettes on the ground. It's not right. If you don't pick it up, someone else will have to. That's not fair to them, Shizuo."

"And how is that? The streets of America are littered with-"

"You've never been to America, Shizuo. You've only seen that in movies." Most people would laugh, but Kasuka remains emotionless, not even looking like he was lecturing his older brother. "Besides, we're Japanese, so it doesn't matter what they do in America."

Shizuo grunts again, but does not pick up the cigarette.

"Shizu-_chan_, listen to your brother~!" Every nerve in Shizuo's body goes on alert. His head turns slowly, deliberately, and he sees what he hates the most. Walking behind him and his brother is the rattiest piece of scum in a town that was filled with garbage. "You don't want to hurt the environment, Shizu-_chan_!"

"Friend of yours?" Kasuka asks, but Shizuo ignores him.

"What the hell are you doing here, Izaya-_kun_?"

Izaya laughs. "You know, it doesn't surprise me that you've taken up smoking during high school. You're quite the little hoodlum, Shizu-_chan_. You really should-"

Sometimes Shizuo couldn't help it. It had gotten better, it really had. Especially in the past few years. But still, when his blood boiled and his mind was taken over by pure fury, Shizuo could do nothing but become a mad whirlwind of destruction.

He grabs the nearest large, metal object he can find, which just so happens to be a mailbox, and holds it over his head. "Izaaaaaaaaaayaaaaaaaaaaa!" He screams, but right when he's about to throw, a brown head of hair gets into his field of vision.

"Come on, Shizuo. Let's go home." Kasuka says, grabbing Shizuo's sleeve as he begins to drag him away.

"Kasuka, stay out of-"

"Let's _go_, Shizuo."

Even Izaya admitted that, when he wanted to be, Shizuo's little brother could be scarier than the freak himself.

And that was the first, and last time that Izaya ever got away from Shizuo without a fight. Smiling like a nut and feeling happy and dandy, Izaya bends down and picks up the cigarette that Shizuo had dropped. In such a good mood that he was whistling, he went to the nearest garbage can and threw it out.

_**Fin**_


	2. Late Night Paradox

**Chapter Two: Late Night Paradox**

When Kida cannot sleep at night he stares at his phone wondering why she doesn't say anything.

He hasn't changed his number; maybe because he wanted her to text him or maybe because it was inconvenient to do so. He couldn't choose between the two. It was too difficult to tell.

And it wasn't like she could have lost or forgotten it; one word to Izaya and she would have all of his personal information at her fingertips, not just the phone number. Hell, Izaya probably knew the name of the teddy bear that had been his best friend before he had met Mikado if she wanted it.

The lack of communication was proof that she did not forgive him; it was proof that she did not care.

As he lies in bed, unable to sleep he wants to know if she thinks of him as frequently as he thinks of her. Does she lie awake wondering if he was holding his phone wondering whether or not to send her a message? Because he did that a lot.

Not wondering if he'd send her a message-he was far too frightened of her reaction to do that-but wondering if she'd send him one.

Then again, if they were both lying there wondering if the other one was wanting to send them a message, then no message would ever be sent. They'd forever be in some sort of limbo. Caring and wondering, but never having anything happen.

As Kida drifts off to sleep, he sort of thinks that it may be better that way; he doesn't want to hurt her any more than he has. He cannot take care of her; he cannot protect her so she should find someone worthy, someone who can do the things that he wanted so badly to do for her.

In a hospital bed Saki falls asleep with her phone in hand, wondering if he was thinking of sending her a message, falling asleep to the thought that perhaps it was better that way. She was too weak for him, too fragile. She was too dependent and because of that she had gotten him into trouble.

Yes, it would be better for the both of them if they just stayed away from one another.

_**Fin**_


	3. Guilt

**Chapter Three: Guilt**

Guilt was not a word in Izaya's vocabulary.

He knew the definition of it, of course. That it was a feeling that one was supposed to experience when they did bad unto others. That was simple enough.

But guilt was something that he very rarely, if ever, felt himself.

"You're still up?"

He looks up; he hadn't realized that Namie was still there. "I guess I am~." He says with a smile. "Would you like to go to bed with me?"

He's grinning like the Cheshire Cat when she walks away, disgusted.

"Do you feel bad for what you did to those illegals and teenagers?" He asks, lying down on the couch that he had been sitting on, staring at the white ceiling of his apartment.

She looks back; she wasn't expecting that. "Probably not… Not usually, at least. Especially the illegals."

Izaya laughs. "You and I are more similar than I would have thought."

"I'd hate to be similar to you." She says as she walks off.

Izaya is not an unfeeling machine; he knows that. She knows that, too. Still, it doesn't pierce his skin at all when she says things like that. It never does.

People could slander his name and he would not feel an inkling of hatred towards them, especially if the slandering was warranted, as usually, it was. Kida Masaomi, for example, had more than enough reason to say whatever he wished about him. In fact, if he were not slandering his name to the full extent he could, Izaya would have been just a little disappointed.

He need not feel any guilt, for Izaya rarely did as well.

**Fin**


	4. Heavenly Intervention

**Chapter Four: Heavenly Intervention**

One lonely fanfic writer sits at her computer, hands in the air, head facing up towards the sky which, though despite being under the roof, is raining on her, narrowly missing her computer. "Why?" She asks, frantic and desperate, tears in her eyes.

From the heavens comes a booming voice, which sounds scarily similar to Mamoru Miyano's. "What is it, my child?" God asks, thinking that he can give one answer to this girl who seems to be so deeply in despair.

The rain stops and she looks up at the sky, ready to ask the question that has haunted her mind for a few months now. "Why do people ship Izaya and Shizuo when they could be shipping Celty and Shizuo? I mean, I like yaoi as much as the next girl, but it's obvious that Shizuo really loves Celty and doesn't care at all for-" She pauses, aghast as the rain begins to fall on her head once again. "God, where are you going?"

"Far away from the otakus. Fanfiction is a godless land."

He retreats back into heaven and does what God does, wondering why, on earth, he created anime.

_**Fin**_

**A/N**: Because I just needed to write this and have it be heard.


	5. Play Time

**A/N:** About last chapter, someone brought it to my attention that they believed that my last chapter was a flame against Shizuo/Izaya shippers. It was not, and I apologize if anyone believed it to be. It was a joke, somewhat against myself, and I'm sorry if it didn't come across that way. If I've offended anyone, I'm very sorry and I hope that you know that it was not on purpose. I know that's no excuse, but apologizing is the only thing I can do in this situation. Thank you and have a nice day.

**Chapter Five: Play Time**

"Celty~, we should go play once in a while!" Shinra says, kind of pulling at Celty's sleeve, even though he knew and she knew that there wasn't much give on it. Skin tight clothing made of shadows didn't tend to have much pull to it. "You're so serious all the time."

She doesn't even bother to take out her palm pilot. If she had eyes she would have rolled them, but instead she just pushes him off of her with her leg, sending him spiraling to the other side of the couch.

"Celty, that was so mean!" He's rubbing the area of contact on his stomach, wincing. When Celty realized that she still had on her shadow shoes, she felt a little bad about using so much force, but she knew he was a big boy; he could take it. Through the tears forming in his eyes, he did something that Celty wasn't expecting: he smiled. "But that was fun, Celty. You need to do that more often."

Yet again, if Celty had eyes, she'd roll them.

Still clenching his stomach he drags himself over to where Celty was on the couch and leans his head on her shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with having a good time with the person that you love, Celty," She shrugs, but he just nuzzles his head closer. "Most people know that."

_I'm not really a person though, am I?_

She asks with a sarcastic air on her palm pilot. Shinra just laughs. "Of course you're a person, Celty. You're my favorite person!" He wraps her arms around her and laughs like a little kid.

_You're so immature._

She writes and he just laughs again. "But you're smiling; I know you are. This is more fun than you've had in weeks. Admit it!"

She never would admit it, but he could tell from her nonexistent face that this was just the sort of playing that she needed.

_**Fin**_


	6. Half Price Day

**Chapter Six: Half-Price Day**

"Simon, I have a little problem."

"Ah, Kida, what is it?"

"I did something bad, Simon, and I need your help."

Simon stops handing out flyers and looks at Kida; he seems to have been to hell and back. "Oh, Kida-_kun_, what could it possibly be?"

"I need your help Simon. I don't know who else to turn to."

Simon frowns. "Kida, tell me what it is…"

"I killed someone." Simon stared. "And I need a way to get rid of the body."

Simon shakes his head. "Oh, Kida, I always thought that you were a good kid." He sighs and looks at Kida's young face, full of prospects and one that had a future. "But I think I can help you."

…

"Russian Sushi?" A young tourist asks her father as they enter the shop that the nice black man had lead them into. Her father nods; he wouldn't take her complaining. They were going to get a good deal here on an expensive vacation. Sure, the menu looked a little strange, but their family came to Japan for an adventure and half-price day at Russian Sushi may just be the sort of adventure that they were looking for.

The black man beckoned them over to a table and the father, the daughter and his wife sat down comfortably. "May I get you some drinks?" The family nods and tells them their orders. "And may I suggest today's special? It won't be around for long!"

The father smiles, humoring the man. "And what would that be?"

"We call it the Blue Square Special! Around only for as long as our special horada fish is around! It's good! It's yummy! And today only, it's on sale!"

The dad smiles and orders the special roll, his pocketbook thanking him, but when it arrives and he bites into it, he feels a little strange. Not that it wasn't good, it was just the most interesting fish that he had ever eaten. He told his wife, who he forced to try a bite, that it tasted a lot like chicken…

_**Fin**_


	7. Gingerbread Man

**Chapter Seven: Gingerbread Man**

"-_kuuuuun!_"

It is a distant noise; an echo that will not reach him for a while. Still, Izaya becomes alert. He bids the yakuza member that he was helping that morning adieu and begins to walk, albeit a bit faster than usual, towards the car that he had ordered to take him back to Shinjuku. Still, there was not much time until-

"-_KUUUUUN_!"

One, two, three… INCOMING.

Flying down the street comes a -oh, this one is new- a smart car comes flying at Izaya with great force and speed. However, Shizuo's plan is flawed; he always seems to forget that when he screams out Izaya's name, Izaya is aware of his presence and, sub sequentially, is able to avoid whatever sort of large object has been thrown at him.

Finally Shizuo is in view, panting and angry; he obviously ran all the way over there to have a cowboy-esque showdown in this alley. "Good one, Shizu-_chan_! A car is new, although, I don't think that the owner probably appreciated that!" As old as their usual confrontation was, it was always comforting to know that when he made a stop in Ikebukuro the moron would be throwing some sort of large and strange object at him.

"Shut up! What are you doing-wait, no! Don't tell me, I don't want to know the sort of perverted shit that you're up to," He throws the cigarette that he was smoking onto the ground and grinds it into the pavement. "Just get the hell out of here!"

Izaya smiles, ready to say something witty and clever to retort Shizuo with, but is stopped by the sound of a metal mailbox hurtling towards him. Yet again, he barely managed to escape. Panting a little from the attack, Izaya takes out his knife and positions it in front of him, ready to go on the offensive. "I didn't even see you throw that one, Shizu-_chan_, you're getting quicker. I'm proud."

Shizuo smiles. "That one wasn't me," From behind him comes a pair of red eyes and large breasts with two more people with red eyes following her, both muscular.

"Ah!" Izaya says, feeling, for the first time, a bit nervous. "Sonohara Anri-_chan_ is your new friend, then?" He laughs a little; backing away. Not that he was afraid of either one separately, but together they may be just a little tiny bit of a threat.

"Let's go, Saika-" She began to say, but Izaya had already started running.

He didn't call it cowardice; he called it picking the battles he wanted to fight in. Besides, it wasn't like he wasn't inviting them to follow him when he yelled, "Run, run as fast as you can; you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!" to mock them as he left them in his dust.

_**Fin**_


	8. The Language of Love

**Chapter Eight: The Language of Love**

"I think French is the most romantic language," She bats her eyelashes three times. "It's the language of looooove~!"

"So you're saying that because of his embarrassment Izaya would propose to Shizuo in French?" Walker almost cannot believe what Erika is saying. Then again, he knows that she is the genius who thought up the great _Mushi-shi_ episode twotorture session, so he cannot complain. That was a work of genius. "I don't think that Izaya even knows-"

"He knows Russian! Why wouldn't he know French?" She looks like she's going to spit in Walker's face. He's not sure he'd mind all that much if it would change the subject.

He sighs. "Then why wouldn't he say it in Russian?"

"Because Russian is so guttural and ugly; saying it in Russian would just leave Shizu-_chan_ in despair!" If life were really an anime, red smoke would be running out of her ears.

Walker, however, knows how to cheer her up.

"_Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei_," He says with a grin.

She melts. "You knew it! I thought I was being sneaky!"

He chuckles. "There's nothing sneaky about screaming about being in despair," He pauses. "Have you ever thought that Zetsubou-_sensei_'s voice sounds familiar?"

They both tilt their head in unison, thinking of whom Nozomu Itoshiki sounded like. "I dunno…" Erika says, moving her hand to her chin in order to have a more standard 'thinking' position.

Walker does the same. "Nor do I…"

They shake their respective heads. "Nonsense," Erika says. "That's almost as crazy as saying that Shinra-_san_ sounds like Lelouch or Kida-_kun_ sounds like Ling!"

Walker laughs. "You're right, I'm sorry," He bows his head slightly, but she sticks up her nose. "What?" He asks her, confused.

"I won't forgive you until you confess that you secretly ship Dotachin and Izaya and that's why you won't admit to my OTP!"

The van stops moving and a bout of laughter comes from the front seat, quickly followed by Togusa's swearing as Dotachin hits him on the head.

"What are you morons talking about?" Dotachin says, turning slowly to the back, a murderous intent deep in his eyes.

The two otakus look at one another, nod once and turn to their friend with huge smiles on their faces. "Nothing~," They say in unison. Irritated as hell, Dotachin shakes his head and gives Togusa a poke and the van begins to move once again.

_**Fin**_

Dedicated to my three favorite voice actors, whose collaboration on _Durarara!_ Is the reason why I started watching it in the first place. Let's hope that Shin'ichiro Miki is in season two, if there is one.


	9. The Con

**Chapter Nine: The Con**

"There's this con," Izaya Orihara tells his schoolmates during their lunch break one day close to graduation. "A man walks into a restaurant shabby clothes with his violin. He starts talking to the guy who they're conning (it's a two-man con) and he starts talking about how he is poor, and how he loves this violin and it's all that he has in his life." He smiles at the mere idea. "Then he 'forgets' his wallet in the car. He tells the man that he'll be back, and he asks if he'll watch the violin for him while he's gone.

"Of course our man says that he will watch it. The player leaves the restaurant and the other guy comes in. Says he's a collector of rare instruments and wants that violin; he's willing to pay $100,000 for it. The conned man says he it's not his, but the collector gives him his card, and with a wink tells him to call if he changes his mind.

"The violin player comes back in with his shabby wallet and shabby jacket and barely has enough to pay for the meal. The conned man tells the violinist that he'll buy his violin for $20,000. The violinist is reluctant-it's all he has, you see- but he says yes. Says it'll help pay for his kid's college. The conned man writes the check, grabs the violin and calls the collector as soon as the violinist left.

"The conned man finds that the collector's phone is disconnected and the violinist and the collector drive off with a trunk full of $100 violins, $20,000 richer. The conned man doesn't know what hit him."

"And you've done this?" An admiring girl asks him.

Izaya looks her over; she's got good legs but an ugly face. Not worth impressing. "No, of course not. I'm just a humble student here who spends a bit too much time on the internet reading about those sorts of things."

A friend of his chuckles, and Izaya elbows him in the ribs; there was no need to draw attention to him like that. Sure, he already had a job with the yakuza waiting for him as soon as he stepped out of school, but the girls didn't need to know that.

One day all of them would hear about Izaya, but not for some petty two-bit con like that, stolen out of a book that he had read a few years ago. No, there'd be something spectacular and dangerous with his name attached to it. Until then, no one needed to know who he really was.

_**Fin**_

**A/N**: Not my best one…


	10. Devilishly Handsome

**Chapter Ten: Devilishly Handsome**

"Stop that, Kida-_kun_, you're tickling me!" Saki giggles and gets up to run away, but Kida grabs her around the waist and pulls her back down next to him. They both laugh and she rolls up on top of him. There's no one else at the park today; it's just the two of them and the bright green grass and white flowers. "You're so…"

"Wonderful? Fantastic? Devilishly handsome?"

They're both grinning. Saki places her index finger on his nose and pushes it in. "I was thinking silly, to be honest," She lifts her hand and smirks at him.

"So I'm not devilishly handsome?" Kida asks with a dramatic sigh, shutting his eyes and pouting. "I'm obviously no good, then. Go find someone better, who can make your heart beat faster in your chest every time that you see him. I'm not worthy of such-"

"Stop it, Kida-_kun_! I was only kidding." She frowns, worried that he's angry; worried that she's done something wrong. "Don't be mad!"

He frowns, and narrows his eyes. Hers grow wide in response; she didn't know that it would hurt him so much. Anger-filled, Kida grabs her arms and she's suddenly worried; Kida was always kind to her, but he _had_ been the leader of a gang. "S-stop!" She says, but he digs her hands into her arms and…

Rolls her over so that he's on top now, smiling and sticking his tongue out at her. "You were worried there, for a second, weren't you?" He teases, waving his arms around.

"You're so not funny!" For a minute she's angry, and she takes her arm and punches Kida's chest, albeit, not as hard as she probably should have. Still, she's angry and she does it again, this time harder.

Kida grunts a little, but smiles and grabs that hand. Gently, he rolls over next to her and cups her fist in his hands, bringing it to his cheek. "I love it when you're angry," He tells her, grinning.

"Then you must love me a lot right now, Kida-_kun_," She's still frowning, but one of his smiles and she melted, unable to resist smiling back at him. "I'm still angry at you," She reminds through her loving gaze.

"Can I make it up to you?" He asks her.

"Maybe," She teases, sticking her nose up.

"I'll go get us drinks," He says, dropping her hand and trying to stand up. Before he can get up, however, she grabs his hand and he topples back onto the ground.

"No, I can think of something better," She says as she leans in to kiss him. He smiles again and kisses her back.

_**Fin**_


	11. Nobody Knows My Sorrows

**Chapter Eleven: Nobody Knows My Sorrows**

"Tell me again what your issue is," Tom says, trying to keep things calm. "I don't quite understand what you're trying to get through to me."

The client was fuming; his face red and his words coming out as grunts and spit. "Ugha flaga baga SHIZUO HEIWAJIMA rowu allkes!" It finally became clear to Tom what the problem with this man was.

"Did Shizuo throw something at you?" The man's eyes grew wide and he nodded wildy. Tom sighed; that explained most everything. From the huge bruise on his face that was imparing him from speaking to the fact that his leg was in a cast. "And now you're angry and want to not pay the money that you owe me because of your exuberant hospital bills?"

The man pointed a finger at Tom. "Ughash flarge malacatoosa!"

Tom raised an eyebrow. "I didn't quite catch that," He said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and shifting his weight to his other foot. "But I think that you may want to-"

"UGHASH FLARGE MALACATOOSA!" The man yelled, flailing his arms wildly.

Tom sighed. "Sir, you're making no sense and, quite frankly, you've been grating on my nerves for the past ten minutes. Could you please leave me alone and not come back until you're ready to pay off-"

"UGHASH-"

The man would never finish that sentence of gibberish.

From across the street came a vending machine, a snack one, not a drink one, and it hit the man squarely on the back of his head. If he survived that, he probably would be out of service for a long, long time.

"Shizuo, I'm beginning to think that you're more trouble than you're worth," Tom says, shaking his head. Shizuo shrugs. "But come on, I've got places to be. The police can clean up that one for us, I think."

Shizuo shrugs again and the two of them walk from the scene, Tom singing softly under his breath.

_Nobody knows the troubles I've seen. Nobody knows my sorrows._

_**Fin**_


	12. Over Thinking

**Chapter Twelve: Over Thinking**

"Maybe the trick is to not think at all," Celty thinks to herself. "I mean, Shizuo doesn't think and he doesn't have any trouble…" If she had a head she'd be shaking it. "No, he does think… I think…"

Quite the conundrum, she thought.

Still, it wasn't as if she had all of the time in the world, despite the fact she seemed to be immortal. The mere fact that she had to think about whether or not she wanted to be spontaneous was too much thought to actually _be_ spontaneous, not that she had thought of that possibility in the first place.

Anyways, she thought and thought and came to the same conclusion: all of that thinking was worthless because in the end she did what she had thought of in the first place.

Her fingers hovered over her palm pilot for a moment before typing the words that she had thought so agonizingly about for so long. Then, she held it out to him.

_I love you._

It was sort of the simplest thing to do, the most straightforward and what he would probably understand the best. There was no need to over think when it came to him.

Still, she hadn't thought of the face that he made when he read those letters. Behind his sunglasses his eyes grew wide, his blonde hair seemed to stand up on end and all of the color drained out of his face.

He looks at her and opens his mouth, but no words come out of it. If she had a face she'd be face palming.

Still, she hadn't thought of this as a reaction when she told Shizuo how she felt for him.

_**Fin**_


	13. Peaceful Slumbers

**Chapter Thirteen: Peaceful Slumbers**

When he sees Mikado, it's kinda hard not to go crazy.

Still, Mikado likes Anri and Anri likes Mikado and there's no room for Kida in that relationship, no matter how much he wishes that there was –because Anri would probably be just as good as Mikado if he closed his eyes- there isn't. And he doesn't begrudge them that because it's up to them if the two of them want to waste their lives in a monogamous relationship with one another. Still…

"Hello Mikado-_kun_!" Kida calls cheerfully to his friend as they meet up on the busy sidewalks of Ikebukuro. "How was your slumber? Peaceful, I assume."

They begin to walk and Mikado gives Kida that look that he gives him when he's being insane (like usual). "You ask such weird questions, Kida-_kun_," he tells his friend.

But Kida will have none of that.

"Not weird, Mikado-_kun_, but socially awkward! There is, of course, a difference between the two!" Even though he got it wrong, Kida will let it slide… this time, at least. Maybe next time Mikado wouldn't be quite so lucky as to have the merciful Kida judge him. "Anyways, Mikado-_kun_, you didn't answer my question~."

"It was fine, I guess," he tells his friend with a shrug. "I don't really get why you're asking me about it, though. Was yours bad or something?"

This is when Kida smiles. Now it's show time at the theater of Kida Masaomi and never has he been as prepared for this curtain. Dramatically he sighs and lays the back of his hand against his forehead. "As bad as it usually is, Mikado-_kun_."

"Eh? I didn't know that you had been having trouble sleeping, Kida-_kun_." The look of shock on Mikado's innocent little face is adorable. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

The perfect reaction, just like Kida wanted. "Well, there is one thing that you could do for me…"

A bit surprised that there was something he could do for his friend –not that he didn't want to do it, just that he thought that sleeping problems were something that were more easily solved individually- Mikado smiles shyly. "What is it?"

"You could try sleeping _with_ me next time," Kida says with a grin. "I think that would-" After rolling his eyes, Mikado is now running and is far ahead from where Kida is. "Mikado-_kun_, don't tell me that you're-"

"You better catch up, Kida-_kun_, because if you don't catch up then you can't come!"

And though he's kinda pissed that Mikado didn't take him up on his offer, Mikado is okay with the small knowledge that Mikado will never know the hilarious joke that he just made.

_**Fin**_

**A/N: **Sigh. I'd totally write this pairing more if I thought that I could get Mikado right…


	14. Ivory Towers

**Chapter Fourteen:** Ivory Towers

Seiji was a prince and she was a princess.

She'd sit up in her ivory tower, hair long, singing to the birds, as she waited for him, her savior, to come and rescue from her from the dull royal life that she had been living and whisk her away to a world of dreams.

"Harima-_san_?"

There would be sunshine, rainbows, unicorns, chocolate candies and dresses made of the most beautiful material that would make everyone who merely looked at them cry.

"Harima-_san_?"

But better than any of that would be Seiji Yagiri, her white knight, upon his noble steed. With a stoic –yet caring- look he would reach his hand down to her from up on his horse and tell her that he had not truly lived before he met her, and that his life now had a purpose. She'd blush and look away, but he'd be persistent, promising her the world if she would do him the honor of just one kiss…

"Harmia Mika-_san_!"

Shy, because she was sheltered from the real world for so long, she'd glance up at him once and back down again. But that alone would be enough for the usually so noble and steady Seiji go wild and crazy with love and…

"HARIMA-_SAN_!"

"Of course I'd love to kiss you!"

The entire class laughed as the sleeping girl woke from her slumber, screaming her passions for their math teacher.

"If you want to do that so much," her teacher said as he pushed his glasses up the bridge up his nose. "Try not to fall asleep in my class. That'd be the first way to win my heart."

Mika could have died.

_**Fin**_


	15. Bluer Skies

**Chapter Fifteen: Bluer Skies**

"I never wanted to break your heart." All I wanted to do was rip it to shreds and then crunch those shreds under my feet until there was nothing left. "I never wanted to hurt you this badly." I wanted to hurt you worse. "This hurts me more than it hurts you; I'm sure of it." I am also sure that I am full of shit.

She smiles; how can she be smiling? "That's a lie." She could always see through me. "You don't mean any of that."

"And how would you know?" I ask her, even though she's one hundred percent right. When it came to my mind, she always knew what was on it.

She giggles and puts a finger up to her lips. "That's a secret that I'll never tell, Masaomi." I love her so much that I want to strangle her and I'm sure that I'm not supposed to feel that way.

"Well, then, I guess I'll be going, then." I wasn't going to stick around for these games; this time I was cutting it. Cutting it off for good. It was for the best, he knew. To walk away now would lead to be better days, brighter smiles, and even bluer skies. Sure, I'd never see Saki smile again, but wasn't that equivalent to never seeing Izaya Orihara's face again? I thought so. Most of the time. "Have a nice life, I guess."

"You're so funny Kida; you know you can't leave."

"Watch me~," I tell her smiling, though worried slightly about that edge in her voice, the edge that only creeps in when she's talking about-

"You'll never leave me; Izaya-_san_ told me that."

When she was talking about Izaya Orihara.

"Well, maybe Izaya-_san_ was wrong this time."

I walk out the door, but I could hear her voice from the other side, telling me again that Izaya was never wrong. If I had a yen for every time that I heard her say that sentence in a sing-song voice, mocking me, mocking everything, I would be living a semi-comfortable life in a nice apartment or something along those lines.

Still, two weeks later I found myself walking back into that apartment, loving her, hating Izaya, but most of all, hating myself.

_**Fin**_


	16. Dieting

**A/N:** I got lazy and decided not to do honorifics in this chapter, because they generally confuse me and it's hard for me to remember who calls whom what. :/

**Chapter Sixteen: Dieting**

There was something wrong. There was something terribly wrong. Unlike usual, Celty did not have the TV on some silly program about aliens, nor was she tidying up or checking her PDA. No, instead she sat there on the couch, hands clenched together.

"Celty!" Shinra asks her, dropping his bag at the door and running to her side. "Celty, what's the matter? Was it the cops?" She shakes her… neck. "Did Izaya do something?" Again she shakes her neck, sending whips of smoke up above them. "Then what happened, Celty? What's wrong?"

With what seemed like a certain bit of reluctance, Celty grabs her PDA off of the couch next to her and types on it with a skilled hand. After a moment, she thrusts the PDA into Shinra's face.

_If I ask you something, will you give me an honest answer?_

Shinra nods. "You know I'd never lie-" If Celty had a face, Shinra knew she'd be frowning. "You know I'd never lie to you unless it was something really, _really_ important." Again she shakes her neck and begins to type in the PDA again.

_Does this bodysuit make my butt look big?_

Shinra couldn't help it; he laughed out loud.

_Then it does?_

"Of course not, Celty! That's absurd. Your butt is just the right size; not too big and not too small, it's-"

_You liar! And it's not even like I can go on a diet; I don't even eat!_

"Celty," he says while he pushes his glasses up on his nose. "Don't you think you're overreacting a little bit? What brought on this new wave of… self-consciousness."

She pauses, her fingers hesitating over her PDA. With what looked like a sigh, she hunched over her PDA and typed.

_I was in the park today with Shizuo and this group of hoodlums came up to us. They began poking Shizuo and asking me if I was the Black Biker, but then another one laughed and said I couldn't because I was too fat! It can't be that I'm… out of shape, can it?_

"What did Shizuo do after that?" It wasn't that he was avoiding the question; he was just honestly interested to hear what the man did.

_Took one of them by the collar and threw him out of the park; the other ones ran like chickens. Why?_

Shinra smiles. "Because if I were there I would have done the same thing. You're fine, just the way you are."

_So you are saying I'm fat!_

"I'm saying that you're perfect, even if you don't believe that you are."

He keeps smiling that irritating grin and Celty crosses her arms across her chest. Momentarily, however, she gave in and hugged Shinra, what she had really wanted to do all along.

_**Fin**_


	17. Slow News Day

**A/N:** Hey, I'm back! :3 Anyways, this is set in-series during some point during the Saika arc, if it isn't clear.

**Chapter Seventeen: Slow News Day**

Two people pass each other, as if they never knew each other, as if there was nothing between them. All the while, one of them screams inside himself. Blaming that other person and hating him, whilst simultaneously blaming and hating himself.

That other person? He just continues walking.

Old news is old news, and to Izaya Orihara, Kida Masaomi is just old news. Why would a plain high school kid interest him, anymore? It wasn't like he was Ryuugamine Mikado and all of his wonderful internet secrets or Anri Sonohara and a sword that could control half of Tokyo.

Nope. Kida Masaomi might be their friend, and might still be the kid who got together one of the strongest color gangs in Ikebukuro, but he is no exciting person.

Without a word, they pass by each other, each pretending that the other doesn't exists. Izaya isn't in the mood for confrontation today—having already had a vending machine thrown at him by Shizuo—and Kida wishes for confrontation even less.

Both keep walking forward. Izaya to his apartment in Shinjuku, and Kida…

To regain control of the Yellow Scarves and all of the evil that they stand for.

_**Fin**_


	18. Double Feature

**Chapter Eighteen: Double Feature**

This would be the last time that Mikado would ever—and he meant _ever_—go to a movie without reading information about it online beforehand. It wasn't that hard to do it. Movies practically gave out their entire plots in ads, too, nowadays. There was no reason that he should have just picked the first movie that he heard the title of for the two of them to go to.

He contemplated sneaking a peak over at Anri, just to see if she were disgusted by the movie, or by him, or by both. In the end, though, he could not do it, too worried that he'd have to feel even more awful about his choice in film if he did.

At the beginning of the movie, the plot didn't seem too bad. Mikado had just assumed that it would be the stereotypical, cliché zombie apocalypse movie. And it had started out like that, for sure. But about a half hour into it, it turned from a zombie movie into… a porno. And an hour and a half into it, the porn hadn't stopped. Of course, the porn also had parts where the main characters killed zombies with machetes, but it didn't stop all of the… sex.

"Sonohara-_san_," Mikado whispered after the woman onscreen screamed as her partner began to turn green and decay as the two of them fornicated one last time. "Are you uncomfortable? At all?"

Next to him, Anri squirmed. "I…" After the two finished up their act on screen, the woman shot the man in the head so that he wouldn't have to die as a zombie. Green muck—that Mikado didn't even want to _think_ about—squirted everywhere, even on the camera's lens. He felt vaguely sick to his stomach. "I think that maybe we ought to go get ice cream."

He glanced over at her, and saw that she was staring at the screen in the same abject horror he was. It was almost enough to make him smile. "Okay," he said, grabbing her hand, unable to meet her eyes, glad that the theater was dark—minus the fire that the actors were using to burn down the zombies that were having an orgy—so that she couldn't see the blush on his face. "Let's go."

And they did. And the two of them ate ice cream and neither mentioned—for the rest of their lives—the time that Mikado had forgotten to make sure that the movie they went to go see was rated PG-13.

_**Fin**_


	19. Ikebukuro Guy

**Chapter Nineteen: Ikebukuro Guy**

Once in Ikebukuro…  
I can still remember  
How Shizuo used to throw those lamps.  
And I knew if I had my chance  
That I could make Izaya dance  
And, maybe, he'd be happy for a while.

But the Dollars made me shiver  
With every paper I'd deliver.  
Bad news on the internet;  
I couldn't take one more step.

I can't remember if I cried  
When I read about Kasuka's pride,  
But something touched me deep inside  
The day Shizuo died.

So bye-bye, Ikebukuro guy.  
Drove my bike to the station,  
But no train came by.  
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye  
Singin', "with this sushi, I'll surely die.  
"with this sushi, I'll surely die."

_**Fin**_

**Quick Note:** As you can probably tell, I'm running out of ideas. So please, if you have any requests, be sure to throw them my way! I'd be happy to take any requests you may have.

_American Pie_ was written by Don McLean. I do not own it.


	20. Roses

**Chapter Twenty: Roses**

Red, the color of passion, fire and love. And blood. "Did you know," he says as he touches the pale exposed—and white, oh so white—skin of her neck with the metal blade. "That in literature, red roses mean rape?"

She sort of snorts and shakes her head once to the side before realizing that when she shakes her head, the knife can't help where it goes. "You would know that, wouldn't you?" She pauses. "I don't see any roses." She smirks; it's not a bad thing. "I guess you never were the romantic type."

For a moment, he takes the knife off of her neck; he can see how she breathes deeper once he does, trying to suck in all the air she can in case the knife comes back. It does. "Did you want flowers, Namie?" he asks, grinning as he watches her hands struggle with the ropes.

"From anyone but you? Maybe." She sighs. "Can you let me go? I've got work to do."

He doesn't hear; the knife is back at her throat and he wants to see her bleed.

"Izaya, what are you-"

Red. The red is everywhere and-

She wakes-up, clutching her throat. She sighs a deep breath of relief and goes to make herself a cup of coffee.

It's not real.

Probably.

_**Fin**_


	21. Paparazzi

**Chapter Twenty-One: Paparazzi**

It had been weird. Real weird. He had been out with Tom, right? Nothing unusual about that. But he had been out with Tom and this weird-ass broad walked up to him and went, "Shizuo Heiwajima?"

He grunted. "What's it to you?" he asked, hoping she'd leave him alone and he could just get done with this job.

"Oh my god, it's really you! That strongest guy in Ikebukuro. Can I get my picture with you?"

Now, of course, Shizuo was trying hard. He always tried hard. _Think of Kasuka, think of Tom, think of Celty, etc. etc. etc._ But sometimes it was a bit _too_ hard.

Really? Was it his fault that the chick went flying after spending _fifteen minutes_ trying to get the camera angle right? Ridiculous. He wasn't some model. Or even an actor, like Kasuka. He was just a dude trying to live a normal life. Was that too much to ask?

Celty shook her head and typed. "Did you really?" she asked, all disappointment.

Shizuo shrugged and adjusted his glasses. "Maybe if it were you, it would have turned out differently."

"Why me?" she typed out.

He shrugged again. And adjusted his glasses again. Something was up. "Dunno," he said.

There were a few things about Shizuo that Celty had learned through the years. The first was that he was easily anger and prone to violence. That was the first thing that anyone learned about Shizuo—in fact, most people knew that before they even met him—but the second, one that fewer people had the chance to figure out—was that Shizuo was not good at keeping secrets.

In fact, he was quite blunt.

"You're quiet tonight," she wrote out.

"Oi," he said. "I like you."

Celty's fingers hovered over the keypad of her PDA, but didn't manage to write anything out.

"That's why it would have been different if it were you." He paused. "I would have waited fifteen minutes if you wanted a photo."

"Thanks," she wrote.

He shrugged. "It's just adolescence," he said. "It'll pass."

He walked home alone, even when Celty offered to give him a ride. None of it was a big deal, anyway. He would just live it over again tomorrow.

And the next day.

And the next day.

Somewhere, a camera flashed.

Celty would give the photo to the girl whenever she found her. Until then… Until then she would keep it to herself as one little token of the strongest man in Ikebukuro.

_**Fin**_


	22. BreakUp

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Break-Up**

It was one of those magnificent break-ups. Plates flying, dogs crying, bacon frying. It was one of those magnificent displays of human hatred.

Of course, Shinra and Celty wouldn't be broken up for long, but it was still all a fun show while it lasted.

'_I'll never talk to him again_,' Celty typed out to Shizuo at the local bar. '_I can't believe he'd…_' She went on to list her grievances with her roommate and former lover. Shizuo, usually the paragon of impatience, listened—well, read, actually—all of Celty's complaints. She was, of course, buying the booze for the evening, so it was the least that he could do.

Shinra, having had Celty stealing the person whom he had thought he would have gone to with an issue such as this, had the unexpected pleasure of Izaya showing up at his apartment door with a box of chocolates and a copy of _He's Just Not That Into You_, expecting a full-blown pity party. Shinra was grateful for the kind thoughts, but would have rather stuck needles in his eyes for three hours than have to listen to Izaya try to make him feel worse about the situation with his so-called 'kind' words.

Right about the time that Izaya decided that he had enough of crappy chick flicks and needed to go back to his dastardly schemes, Celty came back to the apartment from carrying a drunk and raving Shizuo to his place.

Both sat on the couch.

"Celty…?" Shinra asked, staring at the wall.

'_Yes?_' Celty typed, feeling much more calm and much less murderous than she had earlier that evening.

"I learned something tonight," he said, taking a deep breath.

'_And what's that?_'

He smiled, staring at the blank TV screen. "I can't stand anyone else but you."

Celty couldn't make her fingers type faster. '_Same here_,' she typed as fast as she could.

Shinra cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "I know that we both made a few mistakes this afternoon, but… Can we please get back together?"

If Celty had a mouth, she would have sighed with relief. '_Of course,_' she typed before pouncing to the other side of the couch and taking Shinra in her arms.

"Celty?" Shinra asked. She didn't have to type; he knew that she was asking him what was on his mind. "You smell so much better than Izaya."

Celty backed away and grabbed her PDA. '_What_,' she began, beginning to fume. '_Were you doing with _him_?_'

Shinra sighed and grabbed Celty's waist. "Let's talk about that tomorrow."

But Celty would have none of that.

It was one of those magnificent break-ups. Plates flying, dogs crying, bacon frying. It was one of those magnificent displays of human hatred…

But neither would have done it with anyone else.

_**Fin**_


	23. New Things

**Chapter Twenty-Three: New Things**

There's that awkward moment when the girl who you're madly, _madly_ in love with can't stop talking about that time when Shizuo Heiwajima coincidentally saved her life. And as much as Mikado respected Shizuo or whatever, he was massively, _massively_ jealous of him for occupying so many of Anri's thoughts.

So he thought he would learn from the best.

"Eh?" Shizuo nearly dropped the cigarette from his mouth.

Mikado closed his eyes, clenched his fists and gave up his pride. "Please, Shizuo-_san_! I need to learn—"

"Are you serious?" Shizuo asked sounding more surprised than angry. Taking his cigarette from his mouth, he twiddled it between his fingers. Mikado nodded. Shizuo sighed and shrugged. "Okay then…" He glanced at the cigarette and with a swift movement, he stuck it in Mikado's mouth.

It took a moment before Mikado registered that the cigarette was, in fact, lodged between his lips. Looking like a codfish for a moment, he stared down at the foreign object. And then, realizing what was entering his lungs, he spit the cigarette out, right onto Shizuo's shoe.

"I'm so sorry!" Mikado said, scrambling to get the burning thing off of Shizuo's shoe, but sort of afraid to touch it. Rolling his eyes, Shizuo kicked the butt away and sighed. "I'm—"

Shizuo put a hand up. "No matter who she is," he said, beginning to turn around. "You shouldn't have to change."

Mikado fell down to his knees, staring at Shizuo as he walked away, hands in his pockets. He sighed. "No wonder she likes him…" he said. "If I were a girl, I would, too."

_**Fin**_


	24. The End

**Chapter Twenty-Four: The End**

Weirdly enough, it wasn't the people that Mikado would miss. Anri was coming with him, and he had Kida's phone number. He wouldn't miss Izaya and he knew that he could probably hear Shizuo scream from halfway across the city. It would always be easy to pop in for some Russian sushi and he could always see Celty on the eight o'clock news. No, he wasn't going to miss the people.

Maybe it was the smells of the streets at six am when he first woke-up in his shabby apartment. Or maybe what he would miss most is the anonymity while he walked down the street. It could be so simple as missing the vending machine a block from his apartment that always gave him cola, even when he pressed a different button.

"Coming?" Anri asked him, taking her battered brown suitcase in one hand and his in her other.

Mikado nodded once, looking not at Anri, but at the LOVE statue that he never quite understood. He had loved Ikebukuro. "I think so," he said. He had loved never knowing who he was or where he was going or why he was going there. It had been an adventure, that was for sure.

"We'll be back to visit soon," Anri said, sensing Mikado's melancholy. "You know that."

But it wouldn't be the same. It would never be the same. He had been alive in Ikebukuro; he could never live those precious moments again.

He squeezed Anri's hand. It wouldn't be so bad, though. He was ready to start somewhere new.

_**Fin**_

**A/N:** As you could or could not tell from the title, this is the end of this fic. Unless I want to continue it some day. Which is pretty unlikely. This is probably the longest I've stuck with a project and I've stuck with this for far longer than I've ever expected, even far longer than I've really been an active member of the _Durarara!_ fandom. I'd like to thank all of the people who reviewed this fic and gave me encouragement. I have truly appreciated every kind word and I'll take them on with me as I continue writing in the future!


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